Hurricanes on track for title

Manatee is on the cusp of winning a girls district soccer championship after the top-seeded Lady Hurricanes shut out overmatched Pinellas Park, 8-0 Wednesday night in a FHSAA Class 5A-District 8 semifinal at Hawkins Stadium.

The Lady Hurricanes (12-4-2) host St. Petersburg High, a 4-2 semifinal match winner Wednesday over Riverview, on Friday night for the 5A-8 championship.

"It would really show that we have something other than just football," said Bri Blethen, who scored two of Manatee's six first-half goals. "None of the other sports (at Manatee) are really shining, so we're going to make soccer shine."

A goal by Jessica Schafer 18 minutes into the second half ended the game by a mercy rule stoppage against fourth-seeded Pinellas Park (1-17).

Meredith Roberts and Blethen each scored a pair of first-half goals, while Maddy Valadie and Schafer added one apiece to give Manatee a 6-0 halftime lead.

"My goals were pretty much my teammates," Roberts said. "I just followed up on the shots, got the rebounds."

"Meredith and Bri have a knack for going to the goal," said Manatee coach George Ameres. "But none of those opportunities are there if not for our backs winning possession.

"Our two center backs, Kylie Ameres and Becca Byrnes, pretty much control the field and transition into our attack."

Sydney Cornell had two assists while Tyler Einsmann, Blethen and Michaela Krebser had one apiece in the first half.

"We really worked from back to front as a team and got the ball up and connected with our offense to get those goals in," Blethen said.

"Because we're so close, we work better together as a a team, we talk better and connect better," she added.

Pinellas Park coach Chip Bruce said his team took just one shot on goal and estimated that his goalie, sophomore Brooke Colburn, made between 25-30 saves.

"Tha's generating a lot of offense," Ameres said.

"Our girls definitely played with a lot more heart than they did earlier in the season," said Bruce, whose team had allowed eight goals in the first half in the previous meeting against Manatee, which was also an 8-0 defeat.

"This time our coach wanted us to keep the ball a little, keep possession and work on our skills, rather than just smash them," Blethen said.

"Most likely (Manatee) is the strongest team in our district," Bruce said. "I see them going into the late rounds of regionals."

"It's going to be exciting," Roberts said.

Last modified: January 15, 2014
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